Fruitcake
by Anrheithwyr
Summary: No one likes fruitcake, though Neville is willing to fake it to make Luna feel better.


_**Written for the 'Happy Happy Joy Joy' Challenge by BountyHunterGirl134. My pairing was Nuna (Neville/Luna) and my prompt was 'fruitcake'. Here we go-I do not own HP, by the way. (This was written a year ago, I'm just fixing it/re-uploading it.) **_

"Here you go," said Luna, handing the man on the other side of the counter his cake, wrapped neatly with ribbons. The man, who was of middle-age and balding, gave her and the cake box a funny look, as if wondering if this was really happening. The ribbons had been tied to look like a blue-jay, which took Luna almost two hours to figure out.  
"Have a nice day, then." she said, giving him a distant smile. He nodded, still bemused, and walked out with the cake.  
Luna, just a few months past her twentieth birthday now, had recently cut off most of her blonde hair, much to her friend Ginny's dismay. Her eyes were still a blue-grey that reminded most of orbs, filled with great depth and knowledge. She was pale, though not quite as much, due to several months spent in African safaris, watching dragons with several friends she had met at Hogwarts. Younger than her, they were both fresh out of school and eager to explore. But now, Luna was spending her the ends of her summer back in London, working for a Muggle cousin's bakery, where she mostly just tied the boxes shut and handed people their sweets. Beyond tea and soup, Luna was sort of a menace in the kitchen.  
Today was July thirtieth, a rather hot day, with little rain in sight. Luna was planning on popping out over lunch to find something for another good friend of hers, Harry, but for now, there was still another hour to go. She pulled at the back of her shirt, smiling serenely at the woman before her, ordering scones over the sound of her young child's shrieking.  
"Hello," she said to the girl, who blinked back at Luna for a second before continuing to howl about wanting a chocolate doughnut.  
"She's been like this all morning," said the mother, looking rather embarrassed. "I have no idea why, but she certainly needs to stop. It's driving me crazy." She shot a look at her daughter, making Luna  
rather glad she didn't have any kids. She had recently met Harry's three year old godson, Teddy, and Ginny's seventeen month old niece, Victorie. Both were just as loud as this little girl, constantly crying for everything. Not that she minded. A cute baby was a cute baby.  
"It's okay." Luna said, continuing to smile, despite the sudden increase in noise, as the girl became louder. "She probably would feel better if I packed one of these, though." Luna stuck a small doughnut into the bag alongside the scones, not seeing the annoyed looks the mother was shooting her. "No charge." She handed the woman the bag, waving good-bye to the little girl, who simply snatched the bag from her mother's hands, grabbing the doughnut.

….  
About forty minutes later, when most of the people had disappeared-some happier then others-Luna decided to sit at one of the tables for a few minutes to have some water. The door opened, chiming, and Luna looks up to see her boyfriend of almost three years standing in the doorway, looking around.  
"Hello, Neville."  
He turned to smile at her, settling into the chair next to her. "Hey. Busy morning?" he asked, pointing at the water.  
"Yes. My lunch break doesn't start until one, but Jimmy let me off early. I only have to stay inside until one, in case someone stops by."  
"Has anyone stopped by, then?"  
"No. Just you."  
"Maybe I ought buy something, then, since you're still on clock." She smiled, heading over to the counter. "What would you like? Free of charge, for your birthday."  
"I can pay!" Neville protested, having already pulled out his wallet. "I have Muggle money. I'm paying Luna."  
"Alright, what do you want?"  
"Uh..." he glanced around at all the pastries and sweets, wondering which one wouldn't fill him up too much for the party being held tonight at his gram's.  
"The fruitcake is rather good, if you ask me. At least, I've been told that." said Luna.  
"Oh, sure. A slice of fruitcake. Sure." Neville had never actually had fruitcake before. Luna leaned into the container, pulling out a slice and handed it to Neville, who settled down at the table, taking a bite.  
"Do you like it?" Luna asked, fiddling with something under the counter. At the table, Neville made a face, trying not to gag on the fruitcake. It tasted horrible, but Neville didn't want to tell that to Luna.  
"Um, yeah. It's great." he lied.  
Luna raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Wow. I hate this stuff, myself. Would you like some more?"  
"Uh...sure."  
Still looking amazed, Luna handed him the rest of the cake, which he tried to gulp down while she wasn't looking. It was truly crappy stuff.

"You know," began Luna that night after Neville's birthday dinner. "if you didn't like the cake, you didn't actually have to eat it."  
"How'd you know I didn't like it?"  
"I could hear you throwing up. Besides, nobody likes fruitcake."  
"Oh. Well. At least you didn't make me pay for it."  
"Why would I make you pay for something you don't like?"  
"Hm." Neville muttered, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. "It was a decent birthday, at least. Nobody fell off the balcony, Harry actually made it this time, and my girlfriend is here. What else could I ask for?"  
"No fruitcake." said Luna rather seriously, making Neville laugh.  
"Happy birthday, Neville."  
"Thanks, Lune." Neville replied, leaning in to kiss her again, on the mouth.

_**Ah hah hah...I hate fruitcake. Poor Nev.**_


End file.
